First Baptist Church

The First Baptist Church is a historic American Baptist Churches USA congregation, established in 1665. It is one of the oldest Baptist churches in the United States. It first met secretly in members homes, and the doors of the first church were nailed shut by a decree from the Puritans in March 1680. The congregation was forced to move to Noddle's Island. The congregation was forced to be disguised as a tavern and members traveled by water to worship. Rev. Dr. Stillman led the congregation in the North End for over 40 years, from 1764 to 1807. The congregation moved to Beacon Hill in 1854, where it was the tallest steeple in the city. After a slow demise under Rev. Dr. Rollin Heber Neale, the congregation briefly joined with the Shawmut Ave. Church, and the Warren Avenue Tabernacle, and merged and bought the current church building in 1881, for $100,000.00. Since 1882 it has been located at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Clarendon Street in the Back Bay. The interior is currently a pending Boston Landmark through the Boston Landmarks Commission.

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